Overview

A proud affirmation of bisexuality as a unique, valid identity in a world that is quick to misunderstand it

Even as the broader LGBT community enjoys political and societal advances in North America, the bisexual community still today contends with decades of misinformation stereotyping them as innately indecisive, self-loathing, and untrustworthy. Claiming the B in LGBT strives to give bisexuals a seat at the table. This guidebook to the history and future of the bisexual movement fuses a chronology of bisexual organizing with essays, poems, and articles detailing the lived experiences of bisexual activities struggling against a dominant culture driven by norms of monosexual attraction, compulsory monogamy, and inflexible notions of gender expression and identity. Kate Harrad's anthology of a thriving identity yearning to realize itself provides a vision of bisexuality that is beyond gay and straight, rather than left to merely occupy the space between.

Reviews

"A unique and extraordinary anthology of a thriving identity yearning to realize itself provides a vision of bisexuality that is beyond gay and straight, rather than left to merely occupy the space between." —James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review

"Claiming the B in LGBT: Illuminating the Bisexual Narrative shines as an inclusive, landmark text voicing the beauty, the struggle, the diversity of being bisexual. It should definitely be included on every LGBTQ+ bookshelf." —Bri Kerschner, Bi Women Quarterly

Announced as 2018 finalist in Foreword Reviews INDIE awards —https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/books/claiming-the-b-in-lgbt/

Author Biography

Jacq Applebee is a black bisexual writer and activist. They co-founded and facilitate Bisexuals of Colour (bisofcolour.tumblr.com and @bisofcolour). Jacq would love to win the lottery so they could live in a lighthouse by the sea with a few dozen adoring fans.Meg-John Barker is the author of a number of popular books on sex, gender, and relationships, including Queer: A Graphic History, How To Understand Your Gender, Enjoy Sex (How, When, and IF You Want To), Rewriting the Rules, The Psychology of Sex, and The Secrets of Enduring Love. They have also written a number of books for scholars and counsellors on these topics, drawing on their own research and therapeutic practice. Websites: rewriting-the-rules.com, megjohnandjustin.com Twitter: @megjohnbarkerElizabeth Baxter is a thirty-something bisexual activist and writer living in South London. She edits thisisbiscuit.com, keeps getting involved in running bisexual events, and bakes a really mean lemon drizzle cake.Jamie Q Collins is a teacher and activist and as such is entirely too fond of acronyms. They have an inability to walk away from a project, and a fondness for tattoos, cats and glitter that renders them the living embodiment of a queer stereotype.Grant Denkinson came out with surprise rather than shock just over twenty years ago, found bisexual community quickly, and has felt at home there since. He tends to accrete and spawn new projects: editing Bi Community News, creating BDSM-bisexuals weekends, starting Polyday, running Leicester Pride, being a trustee of the Leicester LGBT Centre and BiCon Continuity Ltd. as they became charities, steering the Sexual Freedom Coalition, and organizing Night of the Senses, SM Pride and other sex, sexuality and relationships events. He is interdisciplinary in his work life, supporting research in higher education and being a psychotherapist. He should probably try relaxing.Kate Harrad is a fiction and non-fiction writer, bi activist, event organizer, and parent. You can find her novel All Lies and Jest at gwdbooks.com/kate-harrad.html. She tweets as @katyha.Symon Hill is a bisexual, a Christian, an activist, an author, and an ex-biphobe. He teaches courses on religion and history for the Workers' Educational Association. His latest book is The Upside-Down Bible: What Jesus Really Said about Money, Sex and Violence (published by Darton, Longman & Todd). Symon walked from Birmingham to London in 2011 as a pilgrimage of repentance for his former homophobia. He blogs atwww.symonhill.wordpress.com. He wishes the Church was more like BiCon.Juliet Kemp is a writer, activist and parent. She spends a lot of time staring at the river and drinking tea, which seems to be how the writing happens. She blogs (very) intermittently at julietkemp.com.Fred Langridge is one of nature's administrators, and an adviser on diversity and inclusion. They apply these skills to activism and community work as well as in their day job and in Quaker service. They enjoy chairing meetings, reading, writing and budgeting ... and are far more interesting than this sounds, honest. Since the early 1990s, Marcus Morgan has been one of the UK's leading bisexual activists, delivering training about bisexuality and fighting for better bisexual inclusion. He is the only member of the Institute of Diversity and Equality Practitioners who is also a member of the Magic Circle.Kaye McLelland is a bi activist and event organiser. She has been on two BiCon teams and has helped run BiFests and other events, including BiReCon, the academic conference for bi research. She is also an associate researcher for BiUK, the UK national organization for bisexual research and activism. In her day job she lectures in Shakespeare and is currently researching representations of disability in Renaissance writing. She uses her knowledge of Shakespeare to run 'Queering Shakespeare' drama workshops at BiCon and other LGBT events. Kaye is also a keen singer and the parent of five children. Occasio